Rawtenstall () is a town in the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

Rossendale Rossendale may refer to several places and organizations in Lancashire, England: Places *Rossendale Valley, a river valley *Borough of Rossendale, a local government district *Rossendale (UK Parliament constituency) Rossendale was a United King ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England. The town lies 15 miles (24 km) north of

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, 22 miles (35 km) east of Preston and 45 miles (70 km) south east of Lancaster. The town is at the centre of the

Rossendale Valley The Rossendale Valley is in the Rossendale area of Lancashire, England, between the West Pennine Moors and the main range of the Pennines. The area includes the steep-sided valleys of the River Irwell and its tributaries (between Rawtenstall an ...

. As of 2022, it had a population of 23,000.

Toponym

The name Rawtenstall has been given two possible interpretations. The older is a combination of the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

''routen'' ('to roar or bellow'), from the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

''rauta'' and the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

stall 'pool in a river' (Ekwall 1922, 92). The second, more recent one, relates to Rawtenstall's identification as a cattle farm in 1324 and combines the

''ruh'' 'rough' and ''tun-stall'' 'the site of a farm or cow-pasture', or possibly, 'buildings occupied when cattle were pastured on high ground'

History

The earliest settlement at Rawtenstall was probably in the early

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, during the time when it formed part of the

in the Honour of Clitheroe, and consisted of simple dwellings for forest servants and animals. More substantial buildings may have followed in the 15th and 16th centuries with corn and flour mills. The town entered a major period of growth during the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

, as new mills were constructed to process

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

. The climate and weather were conducive to the industry, as was the town's nearby location to the rapidly developing industrial and mercantile centre at

, dubbed '

Cottonopolis Cottonopolis was a 19th-century nickname for Manchester, as it was a metropolis and the centre of the cotton industry. Background Early cotton mills powered by water were built in Lancashire and its neighbouring counties. In 1781 Richard Ar ...

'. Only a few of these mills survive today, and none are operational anymore. During this period, the brothers

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

and Peter Whitehead became important entrepreneurs in the town. They built a number of mills, including one of the earliest mills in the valley, at Lower Mill, and the still existing Ilex Mill. They also built substantial houses for themselves at Holly Mount, as well as large numbers of terraced houses for their workers. Other industries active in this period included quarrying and small scale

coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

, as well as an expanding commercial sector. As with many mid-Lancashire towns, it saw a population decline in the 20th century, going from 30,000 inhabitants in the 1911 census to 21,500 in the 1971 census. With the decline of the traditional manufacturing industries,

shoemaking Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or '' cordwainers'' (sometimes misidentified as cobblers, who repair shoes rather than make them). In the 18th cen ...

became one of the last survivors. this was usually known locally as the slipper industry, since slipper-making grew from the local processing of felt, which itself grew from the textile industry. The firm of H. W. Tricketts, in nearby Waterfoot, had been a major producer and exporter of footwear across the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

, but shoemaking declined rapidly from the 1980s. Firms closed as production moved overseas, and the remaining companies are largely importers. The church of St Nicholas (Church of England) is at Newchurch (rebuilt 1825) as is the Roman Catholic church of St Peter (1892). Other churches are St Michael's Lumb, St James's Waterfoot, St Anne's Edgeside, St John's Cloughfold, St Mary's Oakenhead, St John the Evangelist's Crawshawbooth, St Mary and All Saints Goodshaw (rebuilt 1790). Another RC church (dedicated to St James the Less) is at Oakenhead and there are a number of Nonconformist chapels.

Governance

local board A local board of health (or simply a ''local board'') was a local authority in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulat ...

was formed for the town in 1874 and the district it governed was extended to cover parts of the townships of Lower Booths (Rawtenstall itself), Higher Booths, Newchurch and Haslingden in the ancient parish of Whalley and Cowpe, Lench, Newhall Hey and Hall Carr, and part of Tottington (Higher End) in the ancient parish of Bury. Rawtenstall Town Hall was completed in 1876. Subsequently, Rawtenstall was incorporated as a

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

in 1891 and in 1894 a civil parish was created to match the borders of the borough. Following the local government reorganisation in 1974 Rawtenstall became part of the

Borough of Rossendale Rossendale () is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Bacup and its largest town is Rawtenstall. It also includes the tow ...

. Rawtenstall is part of the Rossendale and Darwen constituency, after the constituency of

was abolished in 1983. The constituency sends one member of parliament to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

. Andy MacNae MP has been the Member of Parliament for Rossendale and Darwen since the 2024 general election.

Geography

The neighbouring towns in the valley are

Bacup Bacup ( , ) is a town in the Rossendale Borough in Lancashire, England, in the South Pennines close to Lancashire's boundaries with West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester. The town is in the Rossendale Valley and the upper Irwell Valley, east ...

Haslingden Haslingden is a town in Rossendale, Lancashire, England. It is north of Manchester. The name means 'valley of the hazels' or 'valley growing with hazels'. At the time of the 2011 census the town (including Helmshore) had a population of 15,9 ...

and

Ramsbottom Ramsbottom is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 census was 17,872. Historically in Lancashire, it lies on the River Irwell in the West Pennine Moors, north-west of Bur ...

. The area is bounded to the north by Loveclough and Whitewell Bottom, to the east by Waterfoot and Cowpe and to the south by Townsend Fold and Horncliffe. The

River Irwell The River Irwell ( ) is a tributary of the River Mersey in north-west England. It rises at Irwell Springs on Deerplay Moor, approximately north of Bacup and flows southwards for to meet the Mersey near Irlam Locks. The Irwell marks the bound ...

passes through the town on the first part of its route between

and

, collecting Limy Water close to the junction of Bury Road with Bocholt Way. Over recent years the area has become increasingly popular with visitors, attracted by historic buildings, dramatic

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...

s and the heritage railway, the

East Lancashire Railway The East Lancashire Railway is a heritage railway line in North West England which runs between Heywood, Greater Manchester and Rawtenstall in Lancashire. There are intermediate stations at Bury Bolton Street, , Summerseat and Ramsbott ...

which offers tourists and visitors a chance for days out at

Rawtenstall Rawtenstall () is a town in the borough of Borough of Rossendale, Rossendale, Lancashire, England. The town lies 15 miles (24 km) north of Manchester, 22 miles (35 km) east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston and 45 miles (70 km) south east of Lanca ...

and Bury stations among many rural communities along the line.

Climate

Like most of the United Kingdom, Rawtenstall has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

Transport

The town has had bus routes since the early 1930s. The town is served locally by Transdev, with a bus station in the town centre. There is also frequent services such as the X43 which offers connections to the towns of

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

and

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

and the city of

. It is operated by Burnley Bus Company. In 2007 a proposal to demolish part of the previous bus station and build a

Lidl Lidl ( ) is a trademark, used by two Germany, German international discount supermarket, discount retailer chain store, chains that operates over 12,600 stores. The ''LD Stiftung'' operates the stores in Germany and the ''Lidl Stiftung & Co. K ...

store on the site was agreed and the new store was finally completed in 2009.

Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashire is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes Blackburn with Dar ...

and Rossendale Borough Council then eventually replaced the old bus station with a modern bus interchange, which commenced service on Sunday 24 November 2019.

Rawtenstall railway station Rawtenstall railway station serves the town of Rawtenstall, in Lancashire, England; it is the northern terminus of the heritage East Lancashire Railway. It was formerly on the National Rail, national railway network on the line between Bacup, B ...

also serves the town, but since the closure of the main line to Manchester, it now operates mainly as a tourist route, as part of the

, of which Rawtenstall station forms the northern terminus. The

M66 motorway The M66, also known as the Bury Easterly Bypass, is a motorway in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England. It is long and provides part of the route between the M62 motorway, M62 and M60 motorway, M60 motorways and the M65 motorway, M65, wi ...

from Manchester is linked to Rawtenstall via the A56 Edenfield bypass, allowing for a driving time between Manchester and Rawtenstall of around half an hour. Today, Rawtenstall's nearest rail station is in the town of

Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...

and over the county border in

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

in the town of

Todmorden Todmorden ( ; ) is a market town and civil parish in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is north-east of Manchester, south-east of Burnley and west of Halifax, West Yorkshire, Halifax. In 2011, it had a popul ...

Calderdale Calderdale () is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 211,439. It takes its name from the River Calder, and dale, a word for valley. The name Calderdale usually refers to the borough through which the ...

. The nearest metro link is in Bury.

Education

The town has a number of primary and secondary (high) schools, including Alder Grange School, Bellmont School, St Paul's C of E Primary, Cloughfold Primary School, Leabrook School and All Saints' Catholic High School. Though located in Waterfoot, rather than Rawtenstall, the traditional grammar school, Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School takes part of its name from the town. Rawtenstall also has a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

, built in 1906 with Carnegie funding.

The town centre

By 2000, Rawtenstall's 1960s shopping centre had become deserted and boarded-up, and after 2003 various proposals were put forward regarding reconstruction or refurbishment. An agreement between Rossendale Council and the owners of the Rawtenstall centre, Ashcap, in February 2011, was said to "improve Rawtenstall town centre". In late 2011 the shopping centre was demolished, creating a new

town square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

area, where local markets and other events are infrequently held. Rossendale Council funded the demolition using money set aside for a public pool in neighbouring town Haslingden. This move was controversial locally, but the completed bus station has also attracted positive comment. Since 2017 several new bars, shops, bistros and venues have opened in the centre of the town, along with a rejuvenated market under new management. Close by to the Cricket Ground is the Weavers Cottage. This is a characterful 18th century loom shop, which has been restored as a small museum containing a Victorian kitchen, a clog shop and a working hand loom. The

's local newspaper, the '' Rossendale Free Press'' was originally based in Rawtenstall, before being bought out by the

Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 20 ...

in 2009 and subsequently moving to Manchester. Rawtenstall also has one of the largest indoor markets in Rossendale (a sign declaring it to be "probably the friendliest market in the world"), which suffered a serious

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

attack in March 2011. The town is also home to the traditional

herbalist Herbal medicine (also called herbalism, phytomedicine or phytotherapy) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. Scientific evidence for the effectiveness of many herbal treatments ...

and

temperance bar A temperance bar, also known as an alcohol-free bar, sober bar, or dry bar, is a type of bar that does not serve alcoholic beverages. An alcohol-free bar can be a business establishment or located in a non-business environment or event, such as ...

Fitzpatrick's Herbal Health, which claims to be the oldest brewer of sarsaparilla and

dandelion and burdock Dandelion and burdock is a beverage originating and commonly consumed in the British Isles since the Middle Ages. It was originally a type of light mead but over the years has evolved into the carbonated soft drink commercially available today. ...

in the country. Fitzpatrick's gained television acclaim in April 2005 when it won the Famous Sarsaparilla Taste-off on ITV. It is the last bar of its kind in England. The acclaimed fashion boutique Sunday Best was opened in 1971 by Jan Shutt and is situated on Bank Street. Sunday Best won ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' magazine's best shop in Britain award for women's fashion in 2011 whilst Roland's Florist on Bacup Road was runner up in the best florist category. The awards were judged by TV shopping guru Mary Portas. Police facilities in Rawtenstall were one of five sites used for the training of new recruits to the

Lancashire Constabulary Lancashire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Lancashire in North West England. The force's headquarters are at Hutton, Lancashire, Hutton, near the cit ...

. In late 2011, due to funding cuts, Rawtenstall Police Station, along with various other stations in the area, closed down. Rawtenstall is also the location of the area's

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

and

magistrates' court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several Jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) ...

Culture

Rawtenstall was featured in the documentary series '' Who Do You Think You Are?'' which was aired on

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...

at 9.00pm on 2 February 2006. The subject, actress

Jane Horrocks Barbara Jane Horrocks (born 18 January 1964) is a British actress. She portrayed Bubble and Katy Grin in the BBC sitcom '' Absolutely Fabulous''. She was nominated for the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for the title role in the stage pl ...

, was born in Rawtenstall in 1964. The Irwell Sculpture Trail passes through the town, where four of the sculptures are located; the Whispering Wall, the Gateway, the Willow Tree and the Bocholt Tree. The last, by sculptor Bernard Tindall, celebrates Rossendale's twinning links with the town of

Bocholt, Germany Bocholt () is a city in the north-west of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, part of the district Borken. It is situated 4 km ( miles) south of the border with the Netherlands. Suderwick is part of Bocholt and is situated at the border annex ...

. The ''Shoe Trail'' also passes the outskirts of the town, and goes through nearby places such as Whitaker Park.

Whitaker Park and The Whitaker

Whitaker Park is located on the outskirts of the town centre, between Haslingden Road (A681) and Haslingden Old Road. It consists of the former house of the mill owner George Hardman, built in the 1840s, and originally standing in 28 acres of parkland. It is still set in extensive landscaped grounds. Donated to the township of Rawtenstall in 1902 by Richard Whitaker, who brought the house from Hardman for the purposes of civic recreation, the property is now known as The Whitaker, previously Rossendale Museum and Art Gallery. The gardens and surrounding land are laid out as a public park. The park itself has

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both Types of tennis match, doubles and singles matches. A variet ...

s, a

bowling green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

court, an Incredible Edible area, a skateboard area and a

playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people wi ...

as well as formal gardens and fountains. The recently refurbished museum contains exhibits of local history, gallery spaces, and a

cabinet of curiosities Cabinets of curiosities ( and ), also known as wonder-rooms ( ), were encyclopedic collections of objects whose categorical boundaries were, in Renaissance Europe, yet to be defined. Although more rudimentary collections had preceded them, t ...

room. There is an extensive exhibition of

taxidermy Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body by mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proces ...

, and gallery areas for displaying contemporary art and other exhinbitions. Arthur Mee considered it 'one of the best small museums in the North', saying "...perhaps the most fascinating things in the museum are the Domestic Bygones, with hourglasses, toys and spinning wheels, snuff boxes and tinder boxes, the sand dredgers used before blotting-paper was known, rushlights and moulds for making candles, a grand collection of the homely things our forefathers (sic) used". In 2019 The Whitaker was awarded a National Lottery Heritage Fund award of £1.7 million to convert the museum and the former barn and stables. This has doubled its size and enabled the museum to develop its displays and education work, its cafe/restaurant and bar, as well as the study spaces and a shop. It reopened at the end of July 2021, and now includes the old Rossendale Council Parks Department yard at the rear which has been converted to a multi-purpose public area.

Media

Local news and television programmes are provided by

BBC North West BBC North West is the BBC English Regions, BBC English Region serving Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, as well as parts of North Yorkshire (western Craven District, Craven), Derbyshire (western High Peak, Derbyshire, High ...

and

ITV Granada ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...

. Television signals are received from the Winter Hill TV transmitter and one of the two local relay transmitters (Haslingden and Bacup). Local radio stations are

BBC Radio Lancashire BBC Radio Lancashire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Lancashire. Originally launched as BBC Radio Blackburn, in 1981 it expanded to cover the whole county and was renamed BBC Radio Lancashire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB ...

on 95.5 FM, Heart North West on 105.4 FM, Capital Manchester and Lancashire on 107.0 FM, Greatest Hits Radio Lancashire on 96.5 FM, and Rossendale Radio, a community based radio station which broadcast to the town on 104.7 FM The town's local newspaper is the ''

Lancashire Telegraph The ''Lancashire Telegraph'', formerly the ''Lancashire Evening Telegraph'', is a local tabloid newspaper distributed in East Lancashire, England. It is edited by Richard Duggan. The ''Lancashire Telegraph'' prints Monday to Saturday. There a ...

''.

Cricket at Bacup road Rawtenstall 2014-04-25 06-45

Sport

Rawtenstall is home to the North of England's largest dry ski-slope. ''Ski Rossendale'' is located five minutes from Rawtenstall town centre in the Oakenhead area, directly above Whitaker Park and Rossendale Museum. Over its 40-year existence it had seen world record attempts and was used by Olympic athletes and novice skiers. It re-opened after a period of closure in November 2011 with new funding, with a large ceremonial fireworks display on its opening day,

Bonfire Night Bonfire Night is a name given to various yearly events marked by bonfires and fireworks. These include Guy Fawkes Night (5 November) in Great Britain; All Hallows' Eve (31 October); May Eve (30 April); Midsummer Eve/Saint John's Eve (23 Jun ...

. Rawtenstall Cricket Club, who compete in the Lancashire League, have their home ground, Worswick Memorial Ground, within the town. Rawtenstall is also home to

Rossendale RUFC Rossendale Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union team based in Rawtenstall, Rossendale, Lancashire. The club runs three senior sides, a colts team, and eleven junior sides. The first XV currently play in the National League 2 North ...

, who compete in the

National League 2 North National League 2 North is one of three level four leagues in the English rugby union system and provides semi-professional competition for teams in Northern England. The remainder of England is covered by the two counterpart leagues National L ...

Notable people

* David Whitehead (1790–1865) Lancashire businessman, developed several mills in Rawtenstall. * Peter Haddon (1898–1962) an English actor. * Ernest Tomlinson (1924–2015) composer, noted for his light music * Brian S. Hartley (1926–2021) a British biochemist and academic * Fred Tomlinson (1927–2016) singer, songwriter and composer * Elizabeth Bainbridge (born 1930) retired

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

singer * John Egan (born 1939) industrialist, past president of the

Confederation of British Industry The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is a British business interest group, which says it represents 190,000 businesses. The CBI has been described by the ''Financial Times'' as "Britain's biggest business lobby group". Incorporated by roy ...

(born 1964) actress, voice artist, musician and singer, ''

Absolutely Fabulous ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (often shortened to ''Ab Fab'') is a British television sitcom created and written by Jennifer Saunders, which premiered in 1992. It is based on the 1990 '' French and Saunders'' sketch " Modern Mother and Daughter", cr ...

'' *

Natalie Casey Natalie Casey (born 15 April 1980) is a British actress, presenter, narrator and singer. She portrayed Carol Groves in the television show ''Hollyoaks'' (1996–2000) and Donna Henshaw in '' Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps'' (2001– ...

(born 1980) – actress, starred in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps * Phil Lester (born 1987)

YouTuber A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...

and

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

presenter. Sport * Winston Place (1914−2002) cricketer, opening batsman for Lancashire * Colin Blant (born 1946) an English retired footballer with over 260 club caps * Mark Brennan (born 1965) a former footballer with 462 club caps * Lee Cartwright (born 1972) retired footballer who made over 400 league appearances for Preston North End * Thomas Hamer (born 1998) Parasport

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

References

External links

Rossendale Borough Council
* {{authority control Towns in Lancashire Unparished areas in Lancashire Former civil parishes in Lancashire Geography of the Borough of Rossendale